Menace of mushroom growths

Around 109 illegal housing societies in the suburbs of the Federal Capital

Islamabad: Unplanned and haphazard urbanisation on the peripheries of the country’s major cities and towns is a common problem, and though late, the authorities of civic bodies in the major cities have recognised the problems associated with the mushroom growth and have started to take steps to put things in order.

The gravity of the situation in Rawalpindi is enormous due to its proximity to the Federal Capital, and Islamabad is bearing the brunt of the negative fallout of rapid and unplanned urbanisation due to the influx of people from all over the country.

According to Mohammad Ismail, a town planner affiliated with a private housing society, Rawalpindi has seen rapid urbanisation in the last two decades, with the city expanding to Gujar Khan on the eastern side and almost fusing into Taxila on the western side. “This abnormal growth has put tremendous strain on the city’s already fragile civic infrastructure, making life difficult for residents,” he said.

Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has taken the initiative to put a stop to the unplanned and unauthorised urbanisation in all five tehsils (sub-districts) of Rawalpindi, including Gujar Khan, Kallar Syedan, Taxila, Kahuta, and Rawalpindi city.

Areas would be allocated for housing, industrial, and agricultural uses, and no one would be allowed to violate the master plan created for each tehsil.

The RDA’s spokesman, Hafiz Irfan, told Bol News that the peri-urban structure plan for Gujar Khan and Kallar Syedan had been approved and work on the plan for the remaining three tehsils, including Taxila, Kahuta, and Rawalpindi city, was underway and would be completed soon.

The goal of developing a peri-urban structure plan is to identify areas in these tehsils for industrial, commercial, and housing purposes, as well as to control mushroom growth in these cities and towns, according to RDA Director General Saif Anwar Jappa.

RDA Chairman Tariq Mahmood Murtaza is the driving force behind the entire exercise, and he has extensive experience dealing with the issues and problems that come with unplanned growth. He has done an outstanding job as Chairman of the Murree Kahuta Development Authority in saving the Murree and Kahuta forests. He was instrumental in developing the building code for the hill resorts of Murree and Kahuta, putting an end to the construction of multi-story concrete structures that were destroying the tranquil beauty of these mountains.

According to RDA DG Saif Anwar Jappa, this project will contribute significantly to environmental preservation and efficient civic infrastructure in these areas in the coming years.

Some residents, however, are critical of the RDA’s role and hold it responsible for the unplanned and illegal growth of housing and commercial units on the outskirts of Rawalpindi.

Javid Chaudhry, an environmentalist affiliated with an NGO, working on afforestation in the Potohar region, said that the major damage to trees and vegetation is caused by unplanned and haphazard urbanisation on the peripheries of towns and cities.

“I’m not sure if the housing projects on the outskirts of Multan are legal or not, but mango orchards spread across thousands of acres of land were cut down to build housing societies on the best fertile land in the country,” Javid Chaudhry said, adding that it was a criminal act and those who had allowed it should be held accountable. He added that peri-urban plans for all of the county’s major cities are the only way to save agriculture land and forests.

The peri-urban structure plan, like other government feasibility plans, sounds great on paper, but how it would work in practice is another story, according to a retired architect at RDA. The RDA has a strong check and balance mechanism for illegal housing societies within its boundaries, but over the last few decades, dozens of illegal housing societies have carried out their projects in direct violation of the RDA’s by-laws.

Similarly, he added that, while Islamabad is a well-planned city, a large area designated as a no-construction zone by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has become a densely populated residential area with illegal housing and commercial units. The Federal Capital’s outskirts are infested with illegal housing societies, and it is surrounded by illegal construction from Bahara Kahu, Banni Gala, Tarnol, and Shah Allahditta.

According to an RDA spokesman, 134 housing societies within the RDA’s civic boundaries have been declared illegal for failing to meet the requirements for running a housing society. In Tehsil Municipal Administration, approximately 88 housing societies are operating without a proper NoC; in Murre, which was recently granted the status of a district, approximately 57 societies are illegal; in Taxila, 28, and Gujar Khan, 8, respectively; and in Kotli Sattian, approximately three housing societies have not met the relevant civic body’s requirements to operate. As per data provided to the National Assembly by the Federal Interior Ministry, there are 109 illegal housing societies operating in the suburbs of the Federal Capital.

The main issue is not just the preparation of statutes and laws but their strict implementation, so it is expected that the RDA’s concerned authorities will not limit themselves to just making immaculate statutes and regulations under the peri-urban structure plan. It will also ensure that the same will be implemented in true letter and spirit, saving Rawalpindi residents from the hazards associated with growing urbanisation and the mushroom growth of unplanned development.